mark twain - the prince and the pauper

7/29/2019 Mark Twain - The Prince and the Pauper

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This document was prepared for Project Gutenberg and the HTML Writers Guild. This etext was prepared byLes Bowler, St. Ives, Dorset from from the 1904 Chatto and Windus edition. Markup is by Arthur Wendover.March 31, 2000. (See source file for details.)

The Prince and the Pauper. . .

by Mark Twain

Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, to Lord Cromwell, on the birth of thePrince of Wales (afterward Edward VI.).

From the National Manuscripts preserved by the BritishGovernment.

Ryght honorable, Salutem in Christo Jesu, and Syr here ys no lesse joynge andrejossynge in thes partees for the byrth of our prynce, hoom we hungurde for solonge, then ther was (I trow), inter vicinos att the byrth of S. J. Baptyste, as thysberer, Master Erance, can telle you. Gode gyffe us alle grace, to yelde dewthankes to our Lorde Gode, Gode of Inglonde, for verely He hathe shoyd Hymselff Gode of Inglonde, or rather an Inglyssh Gode, yf we consydyr and pondyrwelle alle Hys procedynges with us from tyme to tyme. He hath over cummealle our yllnesse with Hys excedynge goodnesse, so that we are now moor thencompellyd to serve Hym, seke Hys glory, promott Hys wurde, yf the Devylle ofalle Devylles be natt in us. We have now the stooppe of vayne trustes ande thestey of vayne expectations; lett us alle pray for hys preservatione. Ande I formy partt wylle wyssh that hys Grace allways have, and evyn now from thebegynynge, Governares, Instructores and offyceres of ryght jugmente, neoptimum ingenium non optima educatione deprevetur.

Butt whatt a grett fowlle am I! So, whatt devotione shoyth many tymys buttlytelle dyscretione! Ande thus the Gode of Inglonde be ever with you in alleyour procedynges.

The 19 of October.

Youres, H. L. B. of Wurcestere, now att Hartlebury.

Yf you wolde excytt thys berere to be moore hartye ayen the abuse of ymagryor mor forwarde to promotte the veryte, ytt myght doo goode. Natt that yttcame of me, butt of your selffe, etc.

(Addressed)

To the Ryght Honorable Loorde P. Sealle hys synguler gode Lorde.


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To those good-mannered and agreeable children

Susie and Clara Clemens

this book is affectionately inscribed by their father.

I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his father, whichlatter had it ofHISfather, this last having in like manner had it ofHISfather--and so on, back and still back, three hundred years and more, the fatherstransmitting it to the sons and so preserving it. It may be history, it may be onlya legend, a tradition. It may have happened, it may not have happened: but itCOULDhave happened. It may be that the wise and the learned believed it inthe old days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it andcredited it.

Contents.

I. . . The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.

II. . Tom's early life.

III. . Tom's meeting with the Prince.

IV. . The Prince's troubles begin.

V. . Tom as a patrician.

VI. . Tom receives instructions.

VII. . Tom's first royal dinner.

VIII. The question of the Seal.

IX. . The river pageant.

X. . The Prince in the toils.XI. . At Guildhall.

XII. The Prince and his deliverer.

XIII. The disappearance of the Prince.

XIV. . 'Le Roi est mort--vive le Roi.'

XV. . Tom as King.

XVI. The state dinner.

XVII. Foo-foo the First.

XVIII. The Prince with the tramps.

XIX. The Prince with the peasants.

XX. . The Prince and the hermit.

XXI. Hendon to the rescue.

XXII. A victim of treachery.

XXIII. The Prince a prisoner.

XXIV. The escape.

XXV. Hendon Hall.


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XXVI. Disowned.

XXVII. In prison.

XXVIII. The sacrifice.

XXIX. To London.

XXX. Tom's progress.

XXXI. The Recognition procession.

XXXII. Coronation Day.

XXXIII. Edward as King.

Conclusion. Justice and Retribution.

Chapter I.

The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.

In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenthcentury, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him. On thesame day another English child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did wanthim. All England wanted him too. England had so longed for him, and hoped for him, andprayed God for him, that, now that he was really come, the people went nearly mad for joy.Mere acquaintances hugged and kissed each other and cried. Everybody took a holiday, andhigh and low, rich and poor, feasted and danced and sang, and got very mellow; and they keptthis up for days and nights together. By day, London was a sight to see, with gay bannerswaving from every balcony and housetop, and splendid pageants marching along. By night, it

was again a sight to see, with its great bonfires at every corner, and its troops of revellersmaking merry around them. There was no talk in all England but of the new baby, EdwardTudor, Prince of Wales, who lay lapped in silks and satins, unconscious of all this fuss, andnot knowing that great lords and ladies were tending him and watching over him--and notcaring, either. But there was no talk about the other baby, Tom Canty, lapped in his poor rags,except among the family of paupers whom he had just come to trouble with his presence.

Chapter II.

Tom's early life.

Let us skip a number of years.

London was fifteen hundred years old, and was a great town--for that day. It had a hundredthousand inhabitants--some think double as many. The streets were very narrow, and crooked,and dirty, especially in the part where Tom Canty lived, which was not far from London


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Bridge. The houses were of wood, with the second story projecting over the first, and the thirdsticking its elbows out beyond the second. The higher the houses grew, the broader they grew.They were skeletons of strong criss-cross beams, with solid material between, coated withplaster. The beams were painted red or blue or black, according to the owner's taste, and thisgave the houses a very picturesque look. The windows were small, glazed with little diamond-shaped panes, and they opened outward, on hinges, like doors.

The house which Tom's father lived in was up a foul little pocket called Offal Court, out ofPudding Lane. It was small, decayed, and rickety, but it was packed full of wretchedly poorfamilies. Canty's tribe occupied a room on the third floor. The mother and father had a sort ofbedstead in the corner; but Tom, his grandmother, and his two sisters, Bet and Nan, were notrestricted--they had all the floor to themselves, and might sleep where they chose. There werethe remains of a blanket or two, and some bundles of ancient and dirty straw, but these couldnot rightly be called beds, for they were not organised; they were kicked into a general pile,mornings, and selections made from the mass at night, for service.

Bet and Nan were fifteen years old--twins. They were good-hearted girls, unclean, clothed inrags, and profoundly ignorant. Their mother was like them. But the father and the grandmotherwere a couple of fiends. They got drunk whenever they could; then they fought each other oranybody else who came in the way; they cursed and swore always, drunk or sober; John Cantywas a thief, and his mother a beggar. They made beggars of the children, but failed to makethieves of them. Among, but not of, the dreadful rabble that inhabited the house, was a goodold priest whom the King had turned out of house and home with a pension of a few farthings,and he used to get the children aside and teach them right ways secretly. Father Andrew alsotaught Tom a little Latin, and how to read and write; and would have done the same with thegirls, but they were afraid of the jeers of their friends, who could not have endured such aqueer accomplishment in them.

All Offal Court was just such another hive as Canty's house. Drunkenness, riot and brawlingwere the order, there, every night and nearly all night long. Broken heads were as common as

hunger in that place. Yet little Tom was not unhappy. He had a hard time of it, but did notknow it. It was the sort of time that all the Offal Court boys had, therefore he supposed it wasthe correct and comfortable thing. When he came home empty-handed at night, he knew hisfather would curse him and thrash him first, and that when he was done the awful grandmotherwould do it all over again and improve on it; and that away in the night his starving motherwould slip to him stealthily with any miserable scrap or crust she had been able to save forhim by going hungry herself, notwithstanding she was often caught in that sort of treason andsoundly beaten for it by her husband.

No, Tom's life went along well enough, especially in summer. He only begged just enough tosave himself, for the laws against mendicancy were stringent, and the penalties heavy; so heput in a good deal of his time listening to good Father Andrew's charming old tales and

legends about giants and fairies, dwarfs and genii, and enchanted castles, and gorgeous kingsand princes. His head grew to be full of these wonderful things, and many a night as he lay inthe dark on his scant and offensive straw, tired, hungry, and smarting from a thrashing, heunleashed his imagination and soon forgot his aches and pains in delicious picturings tohimself of the charmed life of a petted prince in a regal palace. One desire came in time tohaunt him day and night: it was to see a real prince, with his own eyes. He spoke of it once tosome of his Offal Court comrades; but they jeered him and scoffed him so unmercifully thathe was glad to keep his dream to himself after that.


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He often read the priest's old books and got him to explain and enlarge upon them. Hisdreamings and readings worked certain changes in him, by-and-by. His dream-people were sofine that he grew to lament his shabby clothing and his dirt, and to wish to be clean and betterclad. He went on playing in the mud just the same, and enjoying it, too; but, instead ofsplashing around in the Thames solely for the fun of it, he began to find an added value in itbecause of the washings and cleansings it afforded.

Tom could always find something going on around the Maypole in Cheapside, and at the fairs;and now and then he and the rest of London had a chance to see a military parade when somefamous unfortunate was carried prisoner to the Tower, by land or boat. One summer's day hesaw poor Anne Askew and three men burned at the stake in Smithfield, and heard an ex-Bishop preach a sermon to them which did not interest him. Yes, Tom's life was varied andpleasant enough, on the whole.

By-and-by Tom's reading and dreaming about princely life wrought such a strong effect uponhim that he began to ACT the prince, unconsciously. His speech and manners becamecuriously ceremonious and courtly, to the vast admiration and amusement of his intimates. ButTom's influence among these young people began to grow now, day by day; and in time hecame to be looked up to, by them, with a sort of wondering awe, as a superior being. Heseemed to know so much! and he could do and say such marvellous things! and withal, he wasso deep and wise! Tom's remarks, and Tom's performances, were reported by the boys to theirelders; and these, also, presently began to discuss Tom Canty, and to regard him as a mostgifted and extraordinary creature. Full-grown people brought their perplexities to Tom forsolution, and were often astonished at the wit and wisdom of his decisions. In fact he wasbecome a hero to all who knew him except his own family-- these, only, saw nothing in him.

Privately, after a while, Tom organised a royal court! He was the prince; his special comradeswere guards, chamberlains, equerries, lords and ladies in waiting, and the royal family. Dailythe mock prince was received with elaborate ceremonials borrowed by Tom from his romantic

readings; daily the great affairs of the mimic kingdom were discussed in the royal council, anddaily his mimic highness issued decrees to his imaginary armies, navies, and viceroyalties.

After which, he would go forth in his rags and beg a few farthings, eat his poor crust, take hiscustomary cuffs and abuse, and then stretch himself upon his handful of foul straw, andresume his empty grandeurs in his dreams.

And still his desire to look just once upon a real prince, in the flesh, grew upon him, day byday, and week by week, until at last it absorbed all other desires, and became the one passionof his life.

One January day, on his usual begging tour, he tramped despondently up and down the region

round about Mincing Lane and Little East Cheap, hour after hour, bare-footed and cold,looking in at cook-shop windows and longing for the dreadful pork-pies and other deadlyinventions displayed there--for to him these were dainties fit for the angels; that is, judging bythe smell, they were--for it had never been his good luck to own and eat one. There was a colddrizzle of rain; the atmosphere was murky; it was a melancholy day. At night Tom reachedhome so wet and tired and hungry that it was not possible for his father and grandmother toobserve his forlorn condition and not be moved--after their fashion; wherefore they gave him abrisk cuffing at once and sent him to bed. For a long time his pain and hunger, and theswearing and fighting going on in the building, kept him awake; but at last his thoughts driftedaway to far, romantic lands, and he fell asleep in the company of jewelled and gilded


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princelings who live in vast palaces, and had servants salaaming before them or flying toexecute their orders. And then, as usual, he dreamed that HE was a princeling himself.

All night long the glories of his royal estate shone upon him; he moved among great lords andladies, in a blaze of light, breathing perfumes, drinking in delicious music, and answering thereverent obeisances of the glittering throng as it parted to make way for him, with here asmile, and there a nod of his princely head.

And when he awoke in the morning and looked upon the wretchedness about him, his dreamhad had its usual effect--it had intensified the sordidness of his surroundings a thousandfold.Then came bitterness, and heart-break, and tears.

Chapter III.

Tom's meeting with the Prince.

Tom got up hungry, and sauntered hungry away, but with his thoughts busy with the shadowysplendours of his night's dreams. He wandered here and there in the city, hardly noticingwhere he was going, or what was happening around him. People jostled him, and some gavehim rough speech; but it was all lost on the musing boy. By-and-by he found himself atTemple Bar, the farthest from home he had ever travelled in that direction. He stopped andconsidered a moment, then fell into his imaginings again, and passed on outside the walls ofLondon. The Strand had ceased to be a country-road then, and regarded itself as a street, butby a strained construction; for, though there was a tolerably compact row of houses on oneside of it, there were only some scattered great buildings on the other, these being palaces ofrich nobles, with ample and beautiful grounds stretching to the river--grounds that are now

closely packed with grim acres of brick and stone.

Tom discovered Charing Village presently, and rested himself at the beautiful cross built thereby a bereaved king of earlier days; then idled down a quiet, lovely road, past the greatcardinal's stately palace, toward a far more mighty and majestic palace beyond--Westminster.Tom stared in glad wonder at the vast pile of masonry, the wide-spreading wings, thefrowning bastions and turrets, the huge stone gateway, with its gilded bars and its magnificentarray of colossal granite lions, and other the signs and symbols of English royalty. Was thedesire of his soul to be satisfied at last? Here, indeed, was a king's palace. Might he not hopeto see a prince now--a prince of flesh and blood, if Heaven were willing?

At each side of the gilded gate stood a living statue--that is to say, an erect and stately and

motionless man-at-arms, clad from head to heel in shining steel armour. At a respectfuldistance were many country folk, and people from the city, waiting for any chance glimpse ofroyalty that might offer. Splendid carriages, with splendid people in them and splendidservants outside, were arriving and departing by several other noble gateways that pierced theroyal enclosure.

Poor little Tom, in his rags, approached, and was moving slowly and timidly past the sentinels,with a beating heart and a rising hope, when all at once he caught sight through the goldenbars of a spectacle that almost made him shout for joy. Within was a comely boy, tanned andbrown with sturdy outdoor sports and exercises, whose clothing was all of lovely silks and


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satins, shining with jewels; at his hip a little jewelled sword and dagger; dainty buskins on hisfeet, with red heels; and on his head a jaunty crimson cap, with drooping plumes fastened witha great sparkling gem. Several gorgeous gentlemen stood near--his servants, without a doubt.Oh! he was a prince--a prince, a living prince, a real prince--without the shadow of a question;and the prayer of the pauper-boy's heart was answered at last.

Tom's breath came quick and short with excitement, and his eyes grew big with wonder and

delight. Everything gave way in his mind instantly to one desire: that was to get close to theprince, and have a good, devouring look at him. Before he knew what he was about, he had hisface against the gate-bars. The next instant one of the soldiers snatched him rudely away, andsent him spinning among the gaping crowd of country gawks and London idlers. The soldiersaid,--

"Mind thy manners, thou young beggar!"

The crowd jeered and laughed; but the young prince sprang to the gate with his face flushed,and his eyes flashing with indignation, and cried out,--

"How dar'st thou use a poor lad like that? How dar'st thou use the King my father's meanest

subject so? Open the gates, and let him in!"

You should have seen that fickle crowd snatch off their hats then. You should have heard themcheer, and shout, "Long live the Prince of Wales!"

The soldiers presented arms with their halberds, opened the gates, and presented again as thelittle Prince of Poverty passed in, in his fluttering rags, to join hands with the Prince ofLimitless Plenty.

Edward Tudor said--

"Thou lookest tired and hungry: thou'st been treated ill. Come with me."

Half a dozen attendants sprang forward to--I don't know what; interfere, no doubt. But theywere waved aside with a right royal gesture, and they stopped stock still where they were, likeso many statues. Edward took Tom to a rich apartment in the palace, which he called hiscabinet. By his command a repast was brought such as Tom had never encountered beforeexcept in books. The prince, with princely delicacy and breeding, sent away the servants, sothat his humble guest might not be embarrassed by their critical presence; then he sat near by,and asked questions while Tom ate.

"What is thy name, lad?"

"Tom Canty, an' it please thee, sir."

"'Tis an odd one. Where dost live?"

"In the city, please thee, sir. Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane."

"Offal Court! Truly 'tis another odd one. Hast parents?"

"Parents have I, sir, and a grand-dam likewise that is but indifferently precious to me, Godforgive me if it be offence to say it--also twin sisters, Nan and Bet."


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"Then is thy grand-dam not over kind to thee, I take it?"

"Neither to any other is she, so please your worship. She hath a wicked heart, and worketh evilall her days."

"Doth she mistreat thee?"

"There be times that she stayeth her hand, being asleep or overcome with drink; but when shehath her judgment clear again, she maketh it up to me with goodly beatings."

A fierce look came into the little prince's eyes, and he cried out--

"What! Beatings?"

"Oh, indeed, yes, please you, sir."

"BEATINGS!--and thou so frail and little. Hark ye: before the night come, she shall hie her tothe Tower. The King my father"--

"In sooth, you forget, sir, her low degree. The Tower is for the great alone."

"True, indeed. I had not thought of that. I will consider of her punishment. Is thy father kind tothee?"

"Not more than Gammer Canty, sir."

"Fathers be alike, mayhap. Mine hath not a doll's temper. He smiteth with a heavy hand, yetspareth me: he spareth me not always with his tongue, though, sooth to say. How doth thymother use thee?"

"She is good, sir, and giveth me neither sorrow nor pain of any sort. And Nan and Bet are liketo her in this."

"How old be these?"

"Fifteen, an' it please you, sir."

"The Lady Elizabeth, my sister, is fourteen, and the Lady Jane Grey, my cousin, is of mineown age, and comely and gracious withal; but my sister the Lady Mary, with her gloomy mienand-- Look you: do thy sisters forbid their servants to smile, lest the sin destroy their souls?"

"They? Oh, dost think, sir, that THEYhave servants?"

The little prince contemplated the little pauper gravely a moment, then said--

"And prithee, why not? Who helpeth them undress at night? Who attireth them when theyrise?"

"None, sir. Would'st have them take off their garment, and sleep without--like the beasts?"

"Their garment! Have they but one?"


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"Ah, good your worship, what would they do with more? Truly they have not two bodieseach."

"It is a quaint and marvellous thought! Thy pardon, I had not meant to laugh. But thy goodNan and thy Bet shall have raiment and lackeys enow, and that soon, too: my cofferer shalllook to it. No, thank me not; 'tis nothing. Thou speakest well; thou hast an easy grace in it. Art

learned?"

"I know not if I am or not, sir. The good priest that is called Father Andrew taught me, of hiskindness, from his books."

"Know'st thou the Latin?"

"But scantly, sir, I doubt."

"Learn it, lad: 'tis hard only at first. The Greek is harder; but neither these nor any tongueselse, I think, are hard to the Lady Elizabeth and my cousin. Thou should'st hear those damselsat it! But tell me of thy Offal Court. Hast thou a pleasant life there?"

"In truth, yes, so please you, sir, save when one is hungry. There be Punch-and-Judy shows,and monkeys--oh such antic creatures! and so bravely dressed!--and there be plays whereinthey that play do shout and fight till all are slain, and 'tis so fine to see, and costeth but afarthing--albeit 'tis main hard to get the farthing, please your worship."

"Tell me more."

"We lads of Offal Court do strive against each other with the cudgel, like to the fashion of the'prentices, sometimes."

The prince's eyes flashed. Said he--

"Marry, that would not I mislike. Tell me more."

"We strive in races, sir, to see who of us shall be fleetest."

"That would I like also. Speak on."

"In summer, sir, we wade and swim in the canals and in the river, and each doth duck hisneighbour, and splatter him with water, and dive and shout and tumble and--"

"'Twould be worth my father's kingdom but to enjoy it once! Prithee go on."

"We dance and sing about the Maypole in Cheapside; we play in the sand, each covering hisneighbour up; and times we make mud pastry--oh the lovely mud, it hath not its like fordelightfulness in all the world!--we do fairly wallow in the mud, sir, saving your worship'spresence."

"Oh, prithee, say no more, 'tis glorious! If that I could but clothe me in raiment like to thine,and strip my feet, and revel in the mud once, just once, with none to rebuke me or forbid,meseemeth I could forego the crown!"

"And if that I could clothe me once, sweet sir, as thou art clad-- just once--"


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"Oho, would'st like it? Then so shall it be. Doff thy rags, and don these splendours, lad! It is abrief happiness, but will be not less keen for that. We will have it while we may, and changeagain before any come to molest."

A few minutes later the little Prince of Wales was garlanded with Tom's fluttering odds andends, and the little Prince of Pauperdom was tricked out in the gaudy plumage of royalty. The

two went and stood side by side before a great mirror, and lo, a miracle: there did not seem tohave been any change made! They stared at each other, then at the glass, then at each otheragain. At last the puzzled princeling said--

"What dost thou make of this?"

"Ah, good your worship, require me not to answer. It is not meet that one of my degree shouldutter the thing."

"Then will I utter it. Thou hast the same hair, the same eyes, the same voice and manner, thesame form and stature, the same face and countenance that I bear. Fared we forth naked, thereis none could say which was you, and which the Prince of Wales. And, now that I am clothed

as thou wert clothed, it seemeth I should be able the more nearly to feel as thou didst when thebrute soldier- -Hark ye, is not this a bruise upon your hand?"

"Yes; but it is a slight thing, and your worship knoweth that the poor man-at-arms--"

"Peace! It was a shameful thing and a cruel!" cried the little prince, stamping his bare foot. "Ifthe King--Stir not a step till I come again! It is a command!"

In a moment he had snatched up and put away an article of national importance that lay upon atable, and was out at the door and flying through the palace grounds in his bannered rags, witha hot face and glowing eyes. As soon as he reached the great gate, he seized the bars, and triedto shake them, shouting--

"Open! Unbar the gates!"

The soldier that had maltreated Tom obeyed promptly; and as the prince burst through theportal, half-smothered with royal wrath, the soldier fetched him a sounding box on the ear thatsent him whirling to the roadway, and said--

"Take that, thou beggar's spawn, for what thou got'st me from his Highness!"

The crowd roared with laughter. The prince picked himself out of the mud, and made fiercelyat the sentry, shouting--

"I am the Prince of Wales, my person is sacred; and thou shalt hang for laying thy hand uponme!"

The soldier brought his halberd to a present-arms and said mockingly--

"I salute your gracious Highness." Then angrily-- "Be off, thou crazy rubbish!"

Here the jeering crowd closed round the poor little prince, and hustled him far down the road,hooting him, and shouting--


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"Way for his Royal Highness! Way for the Prince of Wales!"

Chapter IV.

The Prince's troubles begin.

After hours of persistent pursuit and persecution, the little prince was at last deserted by therabble and left to himself. As long as he had been able to rage against the mob, and threaten itroyally, and royally utter commands that were good stuff to laugh at, he was very entertaining;but when weariness finally forced him to be silent, he was no longer of use to his tormentors,and they sought amusement elsewhere. He looked about him, now, but could not recognise thelocality. He was within the city of London--that was all he knew. He moved on, aimlessly, andin a little while the houses thinned, and the passers-by were infrequent. He bathed his bleedingfeet in the brook which flowed then where Farringdon Street now is; rested a few moments,then passed on, and presently came upon a great space with only a few scattered houses in it,and a prodigious church. He recognised this church. Scaffoldings were about, everywhere, andswarms of workmen; for it was undergoing elaborate repairs. The prince took heart at once--hefelt that his troubles were at an end, now. He said to himself, "It is the ancient Grey Friars'Church, which the king my father hath taken from the monks and given for a home for everfor poor and forsaken children, and new-named it Christ's Church. Right gladly will they servethe son of him who hath done so generously by them--and the more that that son is himself aspoor and as forlorn as any that be sheltered here this day, or ever shall be."

He was soon in the midst of a crowd of boys who were running, jumping, playing at ball andleap-frog, and otherwise disporting themselves, and right noisily, too. They were all dressed

alike, and in the fashion which in that day prevailed among serving-men and 'prentices{1}--that is to say, each had on the crown of his head a flat black cap about the size of a saucer,which was not useful as a covering, it being of such scanty dimensions, neither was itornamental; from beneath it the hair fell, unparted, to the middle of the forehead, and wascropped straight around; a clerical band at the neck; a blue gown that fitted closely and hungas low as the knees or lower; full sleeves; a broad red belt; bright yellow stockings, garteredabove the knees; low shoes with large metal buckles. It was a sufficiently ugly costume.

The boys stopped their play and flocked about the prince, who said with native dignity--

"Good lads, say to your master that Edward Prince of Wales desireth speech with him."

A great shout went up at this, and one rude fellow said--

"Marry, art thou his grace's messenger, beggar?"

The prince's face flushed with anger, and his ready hand flew to his hip, but there was nothingthere. There was a storm of laughter, and one boy said--

"Didst mark that? He fancied he had a sword--belike he is the prince himself."

This sally brought more laughter. Poor Edward drew himself up proudly and said--


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"I am the prince; and it ill beseemeth you that feed upon the king my father's bounty to use meso."

This was vastly enjoyed, as the laughter testified. The youth who had first spoken, shouted tohis comrades--

"Ho, swine, slaves, pensioners of his grace's princely father, where be your manners? Downon your marrow bones, all of ye, and do reverence to his kingly port and royal rags!"

With boisterous mirth they dropped upon their knees in a body and did mock homage to theirprey. The prince spurned the nearest boy with his foot, and said fiercely--

"Take thou that, till the morrow come and I build thee a gibbet!"

Ah, but this was not a joke--this was going beyond fun. The laughter ceased on the instant, andfury took its place. A dozen shouted--

"Hale him forth! To the horse-pond, to the horse-pond! Where be the dogs? Ho, there, Lion!

ho, Fangs!"

Then followed such a thing as England had never seen before--the sacred person of the heir tothe throne rudely buffeted by plebeian hands, and set upon and torn by dogs.

As night drew to a close that day, the prince found himself far down in the close-built portionof the city. His body was bruised, his hands were bleeding, and his rags were all besmirchedwith mud. He wandered on and on, and grew more and more bewildered, and so tired and fainthe could hardly drag one foot after the other. He had ceased to ask questions of anyone, sincethey brought him only insult instead of information. He kept muttering to himself, "OffalCourt--that is the name; if I can but find it before my strength is wholly spent and I drop, thenam I saved--for his people will take me to the palace and prove that I am none of theirs, but

the true prince, and I shall have mine own again." And now and then his mind reverted to histreatment by those rude Christ's Hospital boys, and he said, "When I am king, they shall nothave bread and shelter only, but also teachings out of books; for a full belly is little worthwhere the mind is starved, and the heart. I will keep this diligently in my remembrance, thatthis day's lesson be not lost upon me, and my people suffer thereby; for learning softeneth theheart and breedeth gentleness and charity. {1}

The lights began to twinkle, it came on to rain, the wind rose, and a raw and gusty night set in.The houseless prince, the homeless heir to the throne of England, still moved on, driftingdeeper into the maze of squalid alleys where the swarming hives of poverty and misery weremassed together.

Suddenly a great drunken ruffian collared him and said--

"Out to this time of night again, and hast not brought a farthing home, I warrant me! If it be so,an' I do not break all the bones in thy lean body, then am I not John Canty, but some other."

The prince twisted himself loose, unconsciously brushed his profaned shoulder, and eagerlysaid--

"Oh, art HIS father, truly? Sweet heaven grant it be so--then wilt thou fetch him away and


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restore me!"

"HISfather? I know not what thou mean'st; I but know I am THY father, as thou shalt soonhave cause to--"

"Oh, jest not, palter not, delay not!--I am worn, I am wounded, I can bear no more. Take me tothe king my father, and he will make thee rich beyond thy wildest dreams. Believe me, man,

believe me!--I speak no lie, but only the truth!--put forth thy hand and save me! I am indeedthe Prince of Wales!"

The man stared down, stupefied, upon the lad, then shook his head and muttered--

"Gone stark mad as any Tom o' Bedlam!"--then collared him once more, and said with acoarse laugh and an oath, "But mad or no mad, I and thy Gammer Canty will soon find wherethe soft places in thy bones lie, or I'm no true man!"

With this he dragged the frantic and struggling prince away, and disappeared up a front courtfollowed by a delighted and noisy swarm of human vermin.

Chapter V.

Tom as a patrician.

Tom Canty, left alone in the prince's cabinet, made good use of his opportunity. He turnedhimself this way and that before the great mirror, admiring his finery; then walked away,imitating the prince's high-bred carriage, and still observing results in the glass. Next he drewthe beautiful sword, and bowed, kissing the blade, and laying it across his breast, as he hadseen a noble knight do, by way of salute to the lieutenant of the Tower, five or six weeksbefore, when delivering the great lords of Norfolk and Surrey into his hands for captivity. Tomplayed with the jewelled dagger that hung upon his thigh; he examined the costly andexquisite ornaments of the room; he tried each of the sumptuous chairs, and thought howproud he would be if the Offal Court herd could only peep in and see him in his grandeur. Hewondered if they would believe the marvellous tale he should tell when he got home, or if theywould shake their heads, and say his overtaxed imagination had at last upset his reason.

At the end of half an hour it suddenly occurred to him that the prince was gone a long time;then right away he began to feel lonely; very soon he fell to listening and longing, and ceasedto toy with the pretty things about him; he grew uneasy, then restless, then distressed. Suppose

some one should come, and catch him in the prince's clothes, and the prince not there toexplain. Might they not hang him at once, and inquire into his case afterward? He had heardthat the great were prompt about small matters. His fear rose higher and higher; and tremblinghe softly opened the door to the antechamber, resolved to fly and seek the prince, and, throughhim, protection and release. Six gorgeous gentlemen-servants and two young pages of highdegree, clothed like butterflies, sprang to their feet and bowed low before him. He steppedquickly back and shut the door. He said--

"Oh, they mock at me! They will go and tell. Oh! why came I here to cast away my life?"


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He walked up and down the floor, filled with nameless fears, listening, starting at everytrifling sound. Presently the door swung open, and a silken page said--

"The Lady Jane Grey."

The door closed and a sweet young girl, richly clad, bounded toward him. But she stopped

suddenly, and said in a distressed voice--

"Oh, what aileth thee, my lord?"

Tom's breath was nearly failing him; but he made shift to stammer out--

"Ah, be merciful, thou! In sooth I am no lord, but only poor Tom Canty of Offal Court in thecity. Prithee let me see the prince, and he will of his grace restore to me my rags, and let mehence unhurt. Oh, be thou merciful, and save me!"

By this time the boy was on his knees, and supplicating with his eyes and uplifted hands aswell as with his tongue. The young girl seemed horror-stricken. She cried out--

"O my lord, on thy knees?--and to ME!"

Then she fled away in fright; and Tom, smitten with despair, sank down, murmuring--

"There is no help, there is no hope. Now will they come and take me."

Whilst he lay there benumbed with terror, dreadful tidings were speeding through the palace.The whisper--for it was whispered always--flew from menial to menial, from lord to lady,down all the long corridors, from story to story, from saloon to saloon, "The prince hath gonemad, the prince hath gone mad!" Soon every saloon, every marble hall, had its groups ofglittering lords and ladies, and other groups of dazzling lesser folk, talking earnestly together

in whispers, and every face had in it dismay. Presently a splendid official came marching bythese groups, making solemn proclamation--

"IN THE NAME OF THE KING!

Let none list to this false and foolish matter, upon pain of death, nor discuss the same, norcarry it abroad. In the name of the King!"

The whisperings ceased as suddenly as if the whisperers had been stricken dumb.

Soon there was a general buzz along the corridors, of "The prince! See, the prince comes!"

Poor Tom came slowly walking past the low-bowing groups, trying to bow in return, andmeekly gazing upon his strange surroundings with bewildered and pathetic eyes. Great nobleswalked upon each side of him, making him lean upon them, and so steady his steps. Behindhim followed the court-physicians and some servants.

Presently Tom found himself in a noble apartment of the palace and heard the door closebehind him. Around him stood those who had come with him. Before him, at a little distance,reclined a very large and very fat man, with a wide, pulpy face, and a stern expression. Hislarge head was very grey; and his whiskers, which he wore only around his face, like a frame,


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were grey also. His clothing was of rich stuff, but old, and slightly frayed in places. One of hisswollen legs had a pillow under it, and was wrapped in bandages. There was silence now; andthere was no head there but was bent in reverence, except this man's. This stern- countenancedinvalid was the dread Henry VIII. He said--and his face grew gentle as he began to speak--

"How now, my lord Edward, my prince? Hast been minded to cozen me, the good King thyfather, who loveth thee, and kindly useth thee, with a sorry jest?"

Poor Tom was listening, as well as his dazed faculties would let him, to the beginning of thisspeech; but when the words 'me, the good King' fell upon his ear, his face blanched, and hedropped as instantly upon his knees as if a shot had brought him there. Lifting up his hands, heexclaimed--

"Thou theKING?Then am I undone indeed!"

This speech seemed to stun the King. His eyes wandered from face to face aimlessly, thenrested, bewildered, upon the boy before him. Then he said in a tone of deep disappointment--

"Alack, I had believed the rumour disproportioned to the truth; but I fear me 'tis not so." He

breathed a heavy sigh, and said in a gentle voice, "Come to thy father, child: thou art notwell."

Tom was assisted to his feet, and approached the Majesty of England, humble and trembling.The King took the frightened face between his hands, and gazed earnestly and lovingly into itawhile, as if seeking some grateful sign of returning reason there, then pressed the curly headagainst his breast, and patted it tenderly. Presently he said--

"Dost not know thy father, child? Break not mine old heart; say thou know'st me. Thou DOSTknow me, dost thou not?"

"Yea: thou art my dread lord the King, whom God preserve!"

"True, true--that is well--be comforted, tremble not so; there is none here would hurt thee;there is none here but loves thee. Thou art better now; thy ill dream passeth--is't not so? Thouwilt not miscall thyself again, as they say thou didst a little while agone?"

"I pray thee of thy grace believe me, I did but speak the truth, most dread lord; for I am themeanest among thy subjects, being a pauper born, and 'tis by a sore mischance and accident Iam here, albeit I was therein nothing blameful. I am but young to die, and thou canst save mewith one little word. Oh speak it, sir!"

"Die? Talk not so, sweet prince--peace, peace, to thy troubled heart--thou shalt not die!"

Tom dropped upon his knees with a glad cry--

"God requite thy mercy, O my King, and save thee long to bless thy land!" Then springing up,he turned a joyful face toward the two lords in waiting, and exclaimed, "Thou heard'st it! I amnot to die: the King hath said it!" There was no movement, save that all bowed with graverespect; but no one spoke. He hesitated, a little confused, then turned timidly toward the King,saying, "I may go now?"

"Go? Surely, if thou desirest. But why not tarry yet a little? Whither would'st go?"


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Tom dropped his eyes, and answered humbly--

"Peradventure I mistook; but I did think me free, and so was I moved to seek again the kennelwhere I was born and bred to misery, yet which harboureth my mother and my sisters, and sois home to me; whereas these pomps and splendours whereunto I am not used--oh, please you,sir, to let me go!"

The King was silent and thoughtful a while, and his face betrayed a growing distress anduneasiness. Presently he said, with something of hope in his voice--

"Perchance he is but mad upon this one strain, and hath his wits unmarred as toucheth othermatter. God send it may be so! We will make trial."

Then he asked Tom a question in Latin, and Tom answered him lamely in the same tongue.The lords and doctors manifested their gratification also. The King said--

"'Twas not according to his schooling and ability, but showeth that his mind is but diseased,not stricken fatally. How say you, sir?"

The physician addressed bowed low, and replied--

"It jumpeth with my own conviction, sire, that thou hast divined aright."

The King looked pleased with this encouragement, coming as it did from so excellentauthority, and continued with good heart--

"Now mark ye all: we will try him further."

He put a question to Tom in French. Tom stood silent a moment, embarrassed by having somany eyes centred upon him, then said diffidently--

"I have no knowledge of this tongue, so please your majesty."

The King fell back upon his couch. The attendants flew to his assistance; but he put themaside, and said--

"Trouble me not--it is nothing but a scurvy faintness. Raise me! There, 'tis sufficient. Comehither, child; there, rest thy poor troubled head upon thy father's heart, and be at peace. Thou'ltsoon be well: 'tis but a passing fantasy. Fear thou not; thou'lt soon be well." Then he turnedtoward the company: his gentle manner changed, and baleful lightnings began to play from hiseyes. He said--

"List ye all! This my son is mad; but it is not permanent. Over- study hath done this, andsomewhat too much of confinement. Away with his books and teachers! see ye to it. Pleasurehim with sports, beguile him in wholesome ways, so that his health come again." He raisedhimself higher still, and went on with energy, "He is mad; but he is my son, and England'sheir; and, mad or sane, still shall he reign! And hear ye further, and proclaim it: whosospeaketh of this his distemper worketh against the peace and order of these realms, and shall tothe gallows! . . . Give me to drink--I burn: this sorrow sappeth my strength. . . . There, takeaway the cup. . . . Support me. There, that is well. Mad, is he? Were he a thousand times mad,yet is he Prince of Wales, and I the King will confirm it. This very morrow shall he be


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installed in his princely dignity in due and ancient form. Take instant order for it, my lordHertford."

One of the nobles knelt at the royal couch, and said--

"The King's majesty knoweth that the Hereditary Great Marshal of England lieth attainted inthe Tower. It were not meet that one attainted--"

"Peace! Insult not mine ears with his hated name. Is this man to live for ever? Am I to bebaulked of my will? Is the prince to tarry uninstalled, because, forsooth, the realm lacketh anEarl Marshal free of treasonable taint to invest him with his honours? No, by the splendour ofGod! Warn my Parliament to bring me Norfolk's doom before the sun rise again, else shallthey answer for it grievously!" {1}

Lord Hertford said--

"The King's will is law;" and, rising, returned to his former place.

Gradually the wrath faded out of the old King's face, and he said- -

"Kiss me, my prince. There . . . what fearest thou? Am I not thy loving father?"

"Thou art good to me that am unworthy, O mighty and gracious lord: that in truth I know. But--but--it grieveth me to think of him that is to die, and--"

"Ah, 'tis like thee, 'tis like thee! I know thy heart is still the same, even though thy mind hathsuffered hurt, for thou wert ever of a gentle spirit. But this duke standeth between thee andthine honours: I will have another in his stead that shall bring no taint to his great office.Comfort thee, my prince: trouble not thy poor head with this matter."

"But is it not I that speed him hence, my liege? How long might he not live, but for me?"

"Take no thought of him, my prince: he is not worthy. Kiss me once again, and go to thytrifles and amusements; for my malady distresseth me. I am aweary, and would rest. Go withthine uncle Hertford and thy people, and come again when my body is refreshed."

Tom, heavy-hearted, was conducted from the presence, for this last sentence was a death-blowto the hope he had cherished that now he would be set free. Once more he heard the buzz oflow voices exclaiming, "The prince, the prince comes!"

His spirits sank lower and lower as he moved between the glittering files of bowing courtiers;for he recognised that he was indeed a captive now, and might remain for ever shut up in thisgilded cage, a forlorn and friendless prince, except God in his mercy take pity on him and sethim free.

And, turn where he would, he seemed to see floating in the air the severed head and theremembered face of the great Duke of Norfolk, the eyes fixed on him reproachfully.

His old dreams had been so pleasant; but this reality was so dreary!


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Chapter VI.

Tom receives instructions.

Tom was conducted to the principal apartment of a noble suite, and made to sit down--a thingwhich he was loth to do, since there were elderly men and men of high degree about him. Hebegged them to be seated also, but they only bowed their thanks or murmured them, andremained standing. He would have insisted, but his 'uncle' the Earl of Hertford whispered inhis ear--

"Prithee, insist not, my lord; it is not meet that they sit in thy presence."

The Lord St. John was announced, and after making obeisance to Tom, he said--

"I come upon the King's errand, concerning a matter which requireth privacy. Will it please

your royal highness to dismiss all that attend you here, save my lord the Earl of Hertford?"

Observing that Tom did not seem to know how to proceed, Hertford whispered him to make asign with his hand, and not trouble himself to speak unless he chose. When the waitinggentlemen had retired, Lord St. John said--

"His majesty commandeth, that for due and weighty reasons of state, the prince's grace shallhide his infirmity in all ways that be within his power, till it be passed and he be as he wasbefore. To wit, that he shall deny to none that he is the true prince, and heir to England'sgreatness; that he shall uphold his princely dignity, and shall receive, without word or sign ofprotest, that reverence and observance which unto it do appertain of right and ancient usage;that he shall cease to speak to any of that lowly birth and life his malady hath conjured out ofthe unwholesome imaginings of o'er-wrought fancy; that he shall strive with diligence to bringunto his memory again those faces which he was wont to know--and where he faileth he shallhold his peace, neither betraying by semblance of surprise or other sign that he hath forgot;that upon occasions of state, whensoever any matter shall perplex him as to the thing heshould do or the utterance he should make, he shall show nought of unrest to the curious thatlook on, but take advice in that matter of the Lord Hertford, or my humble self, which arecommanded of the King to be upon this service and close at call, till this commandment bedissolved. Thus saith the King's majesty, who sendeth greeting to your royal highness, andprayeth that God will of His mercy quickly heal you and have you now and ever in His holykeeping."

The Lord St. John made reverence and stood aside. Tom replied resignedly--

"The King hath said it. None may palter with the King's command, or fit it to his ease, where itdoth chafe, with deft evasions. The King shall be obeyed."


"Touching the King's majesty's ordainment concerning books and such like serious matters, itmay peradventure please your highness to ease your time with lightsome entertainment, lestyou go wearied to the banquet and suffer harm thereby."


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Tom's face showed inquiring surprise; and a blush followed when he saw Lord St. John's eyesbent sorrowfully upon him. His lordship said--

"Thy memory still wrongeth thee, and thou hast shown surprise--but suffer it not to troublethee, for 'tis a matter that will not bide, but depart with thy mending malady. My Lord ofHertford speaketh of the city's banquet which the King's majesty did promise, some two

months flown, your highness should attend. Thou recallest it now?"

"It grieves me to confess it had indeed escaped me," said Tom, in a hesitating voice; andblushed again.

At this moment the Lady Elizabeth and the Lady Jane Grey were announced. The two lordsexchanged significant glances, and Hertford stepped quickly toward the door. As the younggirls passed him, he said in a low voice--

"I pray ye, ladies, seem not to observe his humours, nor show surprise when his memory dothlapse--it will grieve you to note how it doth stick at every trifle."

Meantime Lord St. John was saying in Tom's ear--

"Please you, sir, keep diligently in mind his majesty's desire. Remember all thou canst--SEEMto remember all else. Let them not perceive that thou art much changed from thy wont, forthou knowest how tenderly thy old play-fellows bear thee in their hearts and how 'twouldgrieve them. Art willing, sir, that I remain?--and thine uncle?"

Tom signified assent with a gesture and a murmured word, for he was already learning, and inhis simple heart was resolved to acquit himself as best he might, according to the King'scommand.

In spite of every precaution, the conversation among the young people became a little

embarrassing at times. More than once, in truth, Tom was near to breaking down andconfessing himself unequal to his tremendous part; but the tact of the Princess Elizabeth savedhim, or a word from one or the other of the vigilant lords, thrown in apparently by chance, hadthe same happy effect. Once the little Lady Jane turned to Tom and dismayed him with thisquestion,--

"Hast paid thy duty to the Queen's majesty to-day, my lord?"

Tom hesitated, looked distressed, and was about to stammer out something at hazard, whenLord St. John took the word and answered for him with the easy grace of a courtieraccustomed to encounter delicate difficulties and to be ready for them--

"He hath indeed, madam, and she did greatly hearten him, as touching his majesty's condition;is it not so, your highness?"

Tom mumbled something that stood for assent, but felt that he was getting upon dangerousground. Somewhat later it was mentioned that Tom was to study no more at present,whereupon her little ladyship exclaimed--

"'Tis a pity, 'tis a pity! Thou wert proceeding bravely. But bide thy time in patience: it will notbe for long. Thou'lt yet be graced with learning like thy father, and make thy tongue master of


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as many languages as his, good my prince."

"My father!" cried Tom, off his guard for the moment. "I trow he cannot speak his own so thatany but the swine that kennel in the styes may tell his meaning; and as for learning of any sortsoever--"

He looked up and encountered a solemn warning in my Lord St. John's eyes.

He stopped, blushed, then continued low and sadly: "Ah, my malady persecuteth me again,and my mind wandereth. I meant the King's grace no irreverence."

"We know it, sir," said the Princess Elizabeth, taking her 'brother's' hand between her twopalms, respectfully but caressingly; "trouble not thyself as to that. The fault is none of thine,but thy distemper's."

"Thou'rt a gentle comforter, sweet lady," said Tom, gratefully, "and my heart moveth me tothank thee for't, an' I may be so bold."

Once the giddy little Lady Jane fired a simple Greek phrase at Tom. The Princess Elizabeth's

quick eye saw by the serene blankness of the target's front that the shaft was overshot; so shetranquilly delivered a return volley of sounding Greek on Tom's behalf, and then straightwaychanged the talk to other matters.

Time wore on pleasantly, and likewise smoothly, on the whole. Snags and sandbars grew lessand less frequent, and Tom grew more and more at his ease, seeing that all were so lovinglybent upon helping him and overlooking his mistakes. When it came out that the little ladieswere to accompany him to the Lord Mayor's banquet in the evening, his heart gave a bound ofrelief and delight, for he felt that he should not be friendless, now, among that multitude ofstrangers; whereas, an hour earlier, the idea of their going with him would have been aninsupportable terror to him.

Tom's guardian angels, the two lords, had had less comfort in the interview than the otherparties to it. They felt much as if they were piloting a great ship through a dangerous channel;they were on the alert constantly, and found their office no child's play. Wherefore, at last,when the ladies' visit was drawing to a close and the Lord Guilford Dudley was announced,they not only felt that their charge had been sufficiently taxed for the present, but also thatthey themselves were not in the best condition to take their ship back and make their anxiousvoyage all over again. So they respectfully advised Tom to excuse himself, which he was veryglad to do, although a slight shade of disappointment might have been observed upon myLady Jane's face when she heard the splendid stripling denied admittance.

There was a pause now, a sort of waiting silence which Tom could not understand. He glanced

at Lord Hertford, who gave him a sign- -but he failed to understand that also. The readyElizabeth came to the rescue with her usual easy grace. She made reverence and said--

"Have we leave of the prince's grace my brother to go?"

Tom said--

"Indeed your ladyships can have whatsoever of me they will, for the asking; yet would I rathergive them any other thing that in my poor power lieth, than leave to take the light and blessingof their presence hence. Give ye good den, and God be with ye!" Then he smiled inwardly at


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the thought, "'Tis not for nought I have dwelt but among princes in my reading, and taught mytongue some slight trick of their broidered and gracious speech withal!"

When the illustrious maidens were gone, Tom turned wearily to his keepers and said--

"May it please your lordships to grant me leave to go into some corner and rest me?"


"So please your highness, it is for you to command, it is for us to obey. That thou should'st restis indeed a needful thing, since thou must journey to the city presently."

He touched a bell, and a page appeared, who was ordered to desire the presence of Sir WilliamHerbert. This gentleman came straightway, and conducted Tom to an inner apartment. Tom'sfirst movement there was to reach for a cup of water; but a silk-and- velvet servitor seized it,dropped upon one knee, and offered it to him on a golden salver.

Next the tired captive sat down and was going to take off his buskins, timidly asking leavewith his eye, but another silk-and- velvet discomforter went down upon his knees and took the

office from him. He made two or three further efforts to help himself, but being promptlyforestalled each time, he finally gave up, with a sigh of resignation and a murmured "Beshrewme, but I marvel they do not require to breathe for me also!" Slippered, and wrapped in asumptuous robe, he laid himself down at last to rest, but not to sleep, for his head was too fullof thoughts and the room too full of people. He could not dismiss the former, so they stayed;he did not know enough to dismiss the latter, so they stayed also, to his vast regret--and theirs.

Tom's departure had left his two noble guardians alone. They mused a while, with much head-shaking and walking the floor, then Lord St. John said--

"Plainly, what dost thou think?"

"Plainly, then, this. The King is near his end; my nephew is mad- -mad will mount the throne,and mad remain. God protect England, since she will need it!"

"Verily it promiseth so, indeed. But . . . have you no misgivings as to . . . as to . . ."

The speaker hesitated, and finally stopped. He evidently felt that he was upon delicate ground.Lord Hertford stopped before him, looked into his face with a clear, frank eye, and said--

"Speak on--there is none to hear but me. Misgivings as to what?"

"I am full loth to word the thing that is in my mind, and thou so near to him in blood, my lord.But craving pardon if I do offend, seemeth it not strange that madness could so change his portand manner?--not but that his port and speech are princely still, but that they DIFFER, in oneunweighty trifle or another, from what his custom was aforetime. Seemeth it not strange thatmadness should filch from his memory his father's very lineaments; the customs andobservances that are his due from such as be about him; and, leaving him his Latin, strip himof his Greek and French? My lord, be not offended, but ease my mind of its disquiet andreceive my grateful thanks. It haunteth me, his saying he was not the prince, and so--"

"Peace, my lord, thou utterest treason! Hast forgot the King's command? Remember I amparty to thy crime if I but listen."


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St. John paled, and hastened to say--

"I was in fault, I do confess it. Betray me not, grant me this grace out of thy courtesy, and Iwill neither think nor speak of this thing more. Deal not hardly with me, sir, else am I ruined."

"I am content, my lord. So thou offend not again, here or in the ears of others, it shall be as

though thou hadst not spoken. But thou need'st not have misgivings. He is my sister's son; arenot his voice, his face, his form, familiar to me from his cradle? Madness can do all the oddconflicting things thou seest in him, and more. Dost not recall how that the old Baron Marley,being mad, forgot the favour of his own countenance that he had known for sixty years, andheld it was another's; nay, even claimed he was the son of Mary Magdalene, and that his headwas made of Spanish glass; and, sooth to say, he suffered none to touch it, lest by mischancesome heedless hand might shiver it? Give thy misgivings easement, good my lord. This is thevery prince--I know him well--and soon will be thy king; it may advantage thee to bear this inmind, and more dwell upon it than the other."

After some further talk, in which the Lord St. John covered up his mistake as well as he couldby repeated protests that his faith was thoroughly grounded now, and could not be assailed by

doubts again, the Lord Hertford relieved his fellow-keeper, and sat down to keep watch andward alone. He was soon deep in meditation, and evidently the longer he thought, the more hewas bothered. By- and-by he began to pace the floor and mutter.

"Tush, heMUSTbe the prince! Will any he in all the land maintain there can be two, not ofone blood and birth, so marvellously twinned? And even were it so, 'twere yet a strangermiracle that chance should cast the one into the other's place. Nay, 'tis folly, folly, folly!"

Presently he said--

"Now were he impostor and called himself prince, look you THAT would be natural; thatwould be reasonable. But lived ever an impostor yet, who, being called prince by the king,prince by the court, prince by all, DENIED his dignity and pleaded against his exaltation? NO!By the soul of St. Swithin, no! This is the true prince, gone mad!"

Chapter VII.

Tom's first royal dinner.

Somewhat after one in the afternoon, Tom resignedly underwent the ordeal of being dressedfor dinner. He found himself as finely clothed as before, but everything different, everythingchanged, from his ruff to his stockings. He was presently conducted with much state to aspacious and ornate apartment, where a table was already set for one. Its furniture was all ofmassy gold, and beautified with designs which well-nigh made it priceless, since they were thework of Benvenuto. The room was half-filled with noble servitors. A chaplain said grace, andTom was about to fall to, for hunger had long been constitutional with him, but wasinterrupted by my lord the Earl of Berkeley, who fastened a napkin about his neck; for thegreat post of Diaperers to the Prince of Wales was hereditary in this nobleman's family. Tom'scupbearer was present, and forestalled all his attempts to help himself to wine. The Taster to


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his highness the Prince of Wales was there also, prepared to taste any suspicious dish uponrequirement, and run the risk of being poisoned. He was only an ornamental appendage at thistime, and was seldom called upon to exercise his function; but there had been times, not manygenerations past, when the office of taster had its perils, and was not a grandeur to be desired.Why they did not use a dog or a plumber seems strange; but all the ways of royalty arestrange. My Lord d'Arcy, First Groom of the Chamber, was there, to do goodness knows what;but there he was--let that suffice. The Lord Chief Butler was there, and stood behind Tom's

chair, overseeing the solemnities, under command of the Lord Great Steward and the LordHead Cook, who stood near. Tom had three hundred and eighty-four servants beside these; butthey were not all in that room, of course, nor the quarter of them; neither was Tom aware yetthat they existed.

All those that were present had been well drilled within the hour to remember that the princewas temporarily out of his head, and to be careful to show no surprise at his vagaries. These'vagaries' were soon on exhibition before them; but they only moved their compassion andtheir sorrow, not their mirth. It was a heavy affliction to them to see the beloved prince sostricken.

Poor Tom ate with his fingers mainly; but no one smiled at it, or even seemed to observe it. Heinspected his napkin curiously, and with deep interest, for it was of a very dainty and beautifulfabric, then said with simplicity--

"Prithee, take it away, lest in mine unheedfulness it be soiled."

The Hereditary Diaperer took it away with reverent manner, and without word or protest ofany sort.

Tom examined the turnips and the lettuce with interest, and asked what they were, and if theywere to be eaten; for it was only recently that men had begun to raise these things in Englandin place of importing them as luxuries from Holland. {1} His question was answered with

grave respect, and no surprise manifested. When he had finished his dessert, he filled hispockets with nuts; but nobody appeared to be aware of it, or disturbed by it. But the nextmoment he was himself disturbed by it, and showed discomposure; for this was the onlyservice he had been permitted to do with his own hands during the meal, and he did not doubtthat he had done a most improper and unprincely thing. At that moment the muscles of hisnose began to twitch, and the end of that organ to lift and wrinkle. This continued, and Tombegan to evince a growing distress. He looked appealingly, first at one and then another of thelords about him, and tears came into his eyes. They sprang forward with dismay in their faces,and begged to know his trouble. Tom said with genuine anguish--

"I crave your indulgence: my nose itcheth cruelly. What is the custom and usage in thisemergence? Prithee, speed, for 'tis but a little time that I can bear it."

None smiled; but all were sore perplexed, and looked one to the other in deep tribulation forcounsel. But behold, here was a dead wall, and nothing in English history to tell how to getover it. The Master of Ceremonies was not present: there was no one who felt safe to ventureupon this uncharted sea, or risk the attempt to solve this solemn problem. Alas! there was noHereditary Scratcher. Meantime the tears had overflowed their banks, and begun to trickledown Tom's cheeks. His twitching nose was pleading more urgently than ever for relief. Atlast nature broke down the barriers of etiquette: Tom lifted up an inward prayer for pardon ifhe was doing wrong, and brought relief to the burdened hearts of his court by scratching hisnose himself.


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His meal being ended, a lord came and held before him a broad, shallow, golden dish withfragrant rosewater in it, to cleanse his mouth and fingers with; and my lord the HereditaryDiaperer stood by with a napkin for his use. Tom gazed at the dish a puzzled moment or two,then raised it to his lips, and gravely took a draught. Then he returned it to the waiting lord,and said--

"Nay, it likes me not, my lord: it hath a pretty flavour, but it wanteth strength."

This new eccentricity of the prince's ruined mind made all the hearts about him ache; but thesad sight moved none to merriment.

Tom's next unconscious blunder was to get up and leave the table just when the chaplain hadtaken his stand behind his chair, and with uplifted hands, and closed, uplifted eyes, was in theact of beginning the blessing. Still nobody seemed to perceive that the prince had done a thingunusual.

By his own request our small friend was now conducted to his private cabinet, and left therealone to his own devices. Hanging upon hooks in the oaken wainscoting were the several

pieces of a suit of shining steel armour, covered all over with beautiful designs exquisitelyinlaid in gold. This martial panoply belonged to the true prince--a recent present from MadamParr the Queen. Tom put on the greaves, the gauntlets, the plumed helmet, and such otherpieces as he could don without assistance, and for a while was minded to call for help andcomplete the matter, but bethought him of the nuts he had brought away from dinner, and thejoy it would be to eat them with no crowd to eye him, and no Grand Hereditaries to pester himwith undesired services; so he restored the pretty things to their several places, and soon wascracking nuts, and feeling almost naturally happy for the first time since God for his sins hadmade him a prince. When the nuts were all gone, he stumbled upon some inviting books in acloset, among them one about the etiquette of the English court. This was a prize. He lay downupon a sumptuous divan, and proceeded to instruct himself with honest zeal. Let us leave him

there for the present.

Chapter VIII.

The question of the Seal.

About five o'clock Henry VIII. awoke out of an unrefreshing nap, and muttered to himself,"Troublous dreams, troublous dreams! Mine end is now at hand: so say these warnings, and

my failing pulses do confirm it." Presently a wicked light flamed up in his eye, and hemuttered, "Yet will not I die till HE go before."

His attendants perceiving that he was awake, one of them asked his pleasure concerning theLord Chancellor, who was waiting without.

"Admit him, admit him!" exclaimed the King eagerly.

The Lord Chancellor entered, and knelt by the King's couch, saying--


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"I have given order, and, according to the King's command, the peers of the realm, in theirrobes, do now stand at the bar of the House, where, having confirmed the Duke of Norfolk'sdoom, they humbly wait his majesty's further pleasure in the matter."

The King's face lit up with a fierce joy. Said he--

"Lift me up! In mine own person will I go before my Parliament, and with mine own hand willI seal the warrant that rids me of--"

His voice failed; an ashen pallor swept the flush from his cheeks; and the attendants eased himback upon his pillows, and hurriedly assisted him with restoratives. Presently he saidsorrowfully--

"Alack, how have I longed for this sweet hour! and lo, too late it cometh, and I am robbed ofthis so coveted chance. But speed ye, speed ye! let others do this happy office sith 'tis deniedto me. I put my Great Seal in commission: choose thou the lords that shall compose it, and getye to your work. Speed ye, man! Before the sun shall rise and set again, bring me his head thatI may see it."

"According to the King's command, so shall it be. Will't please your majesty to order that theSeal be now restored to me, so that I may forth upon the business?"

"The Seal? Who keepeth the Seal but thou?"

"Please your majesty, you did take it from me two days since, saying it should no more do itsoffice till your own royal hand should use it upon the Duke of Norfolk's warrant."

"Why, so in sooth I did: I do remember . . . What did I with it? . . . I am very feeble . . . So oftthese days doth my memory play the traitor with me . . . 'Tis strange, strange--"

The King dropped into inarticulate mumblings, shaking his grey head weakly from time totime, and gropingly trying to recollect what he had done with the Seal. At last my LordHertford ventured to kneel and offer information--

"Sire, if that I may be so bold, here be several that do remember with me how that you gavethe Great Seal into the hands of his highness the Prince of Wales to keep against the day that--"

"True, most true!" interrupted the King. "Fetch it! Go: time flieth!"

Lord Hertford flew to Tom, but returned to the King before very long, troubled and empty-handed. He delivered himself to this effect--

"It grieveth me, my lord the King, to bear so heavy and unwelcome tidings; but it is the will ofGod that the prince's affliction abideth still, and he cannot recall to mind that he received theSeal. So came I quickly to report, thinking it were waste of precious time, and little worthwithal, that any should attempt to search the long array of chambers and saloons that belongunto his royal high--"

A groan from the King interrupted the lord at this point. After a little while his majesty said,with a deep sadness in his tone--


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pretensions, since they belonged to nobles in the prince's immediate service, had their sidespicturesquely fenced with shields gorgeously emblazoned with armorial bearings. Each statebarge was towed by a tender. Besides the rowers, these tenders carried each a number of men-at-arms in glossy helmet and breastplate, and a company of musicians.

The advance-guard of the expected procession now appeared in the great gateway, a troop ofhalberdiers. 'They were dressed in striped hose of black and tawny, velvet caps graced at the

sides with silver roses, and doublets of murrey and blue cloth, embroidered on the front andback with the three feathers, the prince's blazon, woven in gold. Their halberd staves werecovered with crimson velvet, fastened with gilt nails, and ornamented with gold tassels. Filingoff on the right and left, they formed two long lines, extending from the gateway of the palaceto the water's edge. A thick rayed cloth or carpet was then unfolded, and laid down betweenthem by attendants in the gold-and-crimson liveries of the prince. This done, a flourish oftrumpets resounded from within. A lively prelude arose from the musicians on the water; andtwo ushers with white wands marched with a slow and stately pace from the portal. They werefollowed by an officer bearing the civic mace, after whom came another carrying the city'ssword; then several sergeants of the city guard, in their full accoutrements, and with badges ontheir sleeves; then the Garter King-at-arms, in his tabard; then several Knights of the Bath,each with a white lace on his sleeve; then their esquires; then the judges, in their robes ofscarlet and coifs; then the Lord High Chancellor of England, in a robe of scarlet, open before,and purfled with minever; then a deputation of aldermen, in their scarlet cloaks; and then theheads of the different civic companies, in their robes of state. Now came twelve Frenchgentlemen, in splendid habiliments, consisting of pourpoints of white damask barred withgold, short mantles of crimson velvet lined with violet taffeta, and carnation coloured hauts-de-chausses, and took their way down the steps. They were of the suite of the Frenchambassador, and were followed by twelve cavaliers of the suite of the Spanish ambassador,clothed in black velvet, unrelieved by any ornament. Following these came several greatEnglish nobles with their attendants.'

There was a flourish of trumpets within; and the Prince's uncle, the future great Duke of

Somerset, emerged from the gateway, arrayed in a 'doublet of black cloth-of-gold, and a cloakof crimson satin flowered with gold, and ribanded with nets of silver.' He turned, doffed hisplumed cap, bent his body in a low reverence, and began to step backward, bowing at eachstep. A prolonged trumpet-blast followed, and a proclamation, "Way for the high and mightythe Lord Edward, Prince of Wales!" High aloft on the palace walls a long line of red tonguesof flame leapt forth with a thunder-crash; the massed world on the river burst into a mightyroar of welcome; and Tom Canty, the cause and hero of it all, stepped into view and slightlybowed his princely head.

He was 'magnificently habited in a doublet of white satin, with a front-piece of purple cloth-of-tissue, powdered with diamonds, and edged with ermine. Over this he wore a mantle ofwhite cloth-of- gold, pounced with the triple-feathered crest, lined with blue satin, set withpearls and precious stones, and fastened with a clasp of brilliants. About his neck hung theorder of the Garter, and several princely foreign orders;' and wherever light fell upon himjewels responded with a blinding flash. O Tom Canty, born in a hovel, bred in the gutters ofLondon, familiar with rags and dirt and misery, what a spectacle is this!

Chapter X.


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The Prince in the toils.

We left John Canty dragging the rightful prince into Offal Court, with a noisy and delightedmob at his heels. There was but one person in it who offered a pleading word for the captive,and he was not heeded; he was hardly even heard, so great was the turmoil. The Princecontinued to struggle for freedom, and to rage against the treatment he was suffering, untilJohn Canty lost what little patience was left in him, and raised his oaken cudgel in a suddenfury over the Prince's head. The single pleader for the lad sprang to stop the man's arm, andthe blow descended upon his own wrist. Canty roared out--

"Thou'lt meddle, wilt thou? Then have thy reward."

His cudgel crashed down upon the meddler's head: there was a groan, a dim form sank to theground among the feet of the crowd, and the next moment it lay there in the dark alone. Themob pressed on, their enjoyment nothing disturbed by this episode.

Presently the Prince found himself in John Canty's abode, with the door closed against theoutsiders. By the vague light of a tallow candle which was thrust into a bottle, he made out themain features of the loathsome den, and also the occupants of it. Two frowsy girls and amiddle-aged woman cowered against the wall in one corner, with the aspect of animalshabituated to harsh usage, and expecting and dreading it now. From another corner stole awithered hag with streaming grey hair and malignant eyes. John Canty said to this one--

"Tarry! There's fine mummeries here. Mar them not till thou'st enjoyed them: then let thy handbe heavy as thou wilt. Stand forth, lad. Now say thy foolery again, an thou'st not forgot it.Name thy name. Who art thou?"

The insulted blood mounted to the little prince's cheek once more, and he lifted a steady and

indignant gaze to the man's face and said--

"'Tis but ill-breeding in such as thou to command me to speak. I tell thee now, as I told theebefore, I am Edward, Prince of Wales, and none other."

The stunning surprise of this reply nailed the hag's feet to the floor where she stood, andalmost took her breath. She stared at the Prince in stupid amazement, which so amused herruffianly son, that he burst into a roar of laughter. But the effect upon Tom Canty's mother andsisters was different. Their dread of bodily injury gave way at once to distress of a differentsort. They ran forward with woe and dismay in their faces, exclaiming--

"Oh, poor Tom, poor lad!"

The mother fell on her knees before the Prince, put her hands upon his shoulders, and gazedyearningly into his face through her rising tears. Then she said--

"Oh, my poor boy! Thy foolish reading hath wrought its woeful work at last, and ta'en thy witaway. Ah! why did'st thou cleave to it when I so warned thee 'gainst it? Thou'st broke thymother's heart."

The Prince looked into her face, and said gently--


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"Thy son is well, and hath not lost his wits, good dame. Comfort thee: let me to the palacewhere he is, and straightway will the King my father restore him to thee."

"The King thy father! Oh, my child! unsay these words that be freighted with death for thee,and ruin for all that be near to thee. Shake of this gruesome dream. Call back thy poorwandering memory. Look upon me. Am not I thy mother that bore thee, and loveth thee?"

The Prince shook his head and reluctantly said--

"God knoweth I am loth to grieve thy heart; but truly have I never looked upon thy facebefore."

The woman sank back to a sitting posture on the floor, and, covering her eyes with her hands,gave way to heart-broken sobs and wailings.

"Let the show go on!" shouted Canty. "What, Nan!--what, Bet! mannerless wenches! will yestand in the Prince's presence? Upon your knees, ye pauper scum, and do him reverence!"

He followed this with another horse-laugh. The girls began to plead timidly for their brother;and Nan said--

"An thou wilt but let him to bed, father, rest and sleep will heal his madness: prithee, do."

"Do, father," said Bet; "he is more worn than is his wont. To- morrow will he be himselfagain, and will beg with diligence, and come not empty home again."

This remark sobered the father's joviality, and brought his mind to business. He turned angrilyupon the Prince, and said--

"The morrow must we pay two pennies to him that owns this hole; two pennies, mark ye--all

this money for a half-year's rent, else out of this we go. Show what thou'st gathered with thylazy begging."

The Prince said--

"Offend me not with thy sordid matters. I tell thee again I am the King's son."

A sounding blow upon the Prince's shoulder from Canty's broad palm sent him staggering intogoodwife Canty's arms, who clasped him to her breast, and sheltered him from a pelting rainof cuffs and slaps by interposing her own person. The frightened girls retreated to their corner;but the grandmother stepped eagerly forward to assist her son. The Prince sprang away fromMrs. Canty, exclaiming--

"Thou shalt not suffer for me, madam. Let these swine do their will upon me alone."

This speech infuriated the swine to such a degree that they set about their work without wasteof time. Between them they belaboured the boy right soundly, and then gave the girls and theirmother a beating for showing sympathy for the victim.

"Now," said Canty, "to bed, all of ye. The entertainment has tired me."

The light was put out, and the family retired. As soon as the snorings of the head of the house


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the verdict of the test; she must try the thing again--the failure must have been only anaccident; so she startled the boy out of his sleep a second and a third time, at intervals--withthe same result which had marked the first test; then she dragged herself to bed, and fellsorrowfully asleep, saying, "But I cannot give him up--oh no, I cannot, I cannot--he MUSTbemy boy!"

The poor mother's interruptions having ceased, and the Prince's pains having gradually lost

their power to disturb him, utter weariness at last sealed his eyes in a profound and restfulsleep. Hour after hour slipped away, and still he slept like the dead. Thus four or five hourspassed. Then his stupor began to lighten. Presently, while half asleep and half awake, hemurmured--

"Sir William!"

After a moment--

"Ho, Sir William Herbert! Hie thee hither, and list to the strangest dream that ever . . . SirWilliam! dost hear? Man, I did think me changed to a pauper, and . . . Ho there! Guards! SirWilliam! What! is there no groom of the chamber in waiting? Alack! it shall go hard with--"

"What aileth thee?" asked a whisper near him. "Who art thou calling?"

"Sir William Herbert. Who art thou?"

"I? Who should I be, but thy sister Nan? Oh, Tom, I had forgot! Thou'rt mad yet--poor lad,thou'rt mad yet: would I had never woke to know it again! But prithee master thy tongue, lestwe be all beaten till we die!"

The startled Prince sprang partly up, but a sharp reminder from his stiffened bruises broughthim to himself, and he sank back among his foul straw with a moan and the ejaculation--

"Alas! it was no dream, then!"

In a moment all the heavy sorrow and misery which sleep had banished were upon him again,and he realised that he was no longer a petted prince in a palace, with the adoring eyes of anation upon him, but a pauper, an outcast, clothed in rags, prisoner in a den fit only for beasts,and consorting with beggars and thieves.

In the midst of his grief he began to be conscious of hilarious noises and shoutings, apparentlybut a block or two away. The next moment there were several sharp raps at the door; JohnCanty ceased from snoring and said--

"Who knocketh? What wilt thou?"

A voice answered--

"Know'st thou who it was thou laid thy cudgel on?"

"No. Neither know I, nor care."

"Belike thou'lt change thy note eftsoons. An thou would save thy neck, nothing but flight maystead thee. The man is this moment delivering up the ghost. 'Tis the priest, Father Andrew!"


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"God-a-mercy!" exclaimed Canty. He roused his family, and hoarsely commanded, "Up withye all and fly--or bide where ye are and perish!"

Scarcely five minutes later the Canty household were in the street and flying for their lives.John Canty held the Prince by the wrist, and hurried him along the dark way, giving him thiscaution in a low voice--

"Mind thy tongue, thou mad fool, and speak not our name. I will choose me a new name,speedily, to throw the law's dogs off the scent. Mind thy tongue, I tell thee!"

He growled these words to the rest of the family--

"If it so chance that we be separated, let each make for London Bridge; whoso findeth himselfas far as the last linen-draper's shop on the bridge, let him tarry there till the others be come,then will we flee into Southwark together."

At this moment the party burst suddenly out of darkness into light; and not only into light, butinto the midst of a multitude of singing, dancing, and shouting people, massed together on the

river frontage. There was a line of bonfires stretching as far as one could see, up and down theThames; London Bridge was illuminated; Southwark Bridge likewise; the entire river wasaglow with the flash and sheen of coloured lights; and constant explosions of fireworks filledthe skies with an intricate commingling of shooting splendours and a thick rain of dazzlingsparks that almost turned night into day; everywhere were crowds of revellers; all Londonseemed to be at large.

John Canty delivered himself of a furious curse and commanded a retreat; but it was too late.He and his tribe were swallowed up in that swarming hive of humanity, and hopelesslyseparated from each other in an instant. We are not considering that the Prince was one of histribe; Canty still kept his grip upon him. The Prince's heart was beating high with hopes ofescape, now. A burly waterman, considerably exalted with liquor, found himself rudelyshoved by Canty in his efforts to plough through the crowd; he laid his great hand on Canty'sshoulder and said--

"Nay, whither so fast, friend? Dost canker thy soul with sordid business when all that be lealmen and true make holiday?"

"Mine affairs are mine own, they concern thee not," answered Canty, roughly; "take away thyhand and let me pass."

"Sith that is thy humour, thou'lt NOT pass, till thou'st drunk to the Prince of Wales, I tell theethat," said the waterman, barring the way resolutely.

"Give me the cup, then, and make speed, make speed!"

Other revellers were interested by this time. They cried out--

"The loving-cup, the loving-cup! make the sour knave drink the loving-cup, else will we feedhim to the fishes."

So a huge loving-cup was brought; the waterman, grasping it by one of its handles, and withthe other hand bearing up the end of an imaginary napkin, presented it in due and ancient form


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the hall. From their lofty vantage-ground the giants Gog and Magog, the ancient guardians ofthe city, contemplated the spectacle below them with eyes grown familiar to it in forgottengenerations. There was a bugle-blast and a proclamation, and a fat butler appeared in a highperch in the leftward wall, followed by his servitors bearing with impressive solemnity a royalbaron of b

mark twain - the prince and the pauper

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